


To Fall For a Ghost

by meori_apeudaa



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Kunten, M/M, Qian Kun-centric, Slow Burn, is this sci fi or fantasty?, kun has too many feelings, ten has catboy energy, why not both i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28941315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meori_apeudaa/pseuds/meori_apeudaa
Summary: “You’re…”“A Specter,” the boy supplied, “yes. Though I prefer to go by Ten.”--A short piece where Kun, a Novian from the planet Xaelar, runs into Ten, a Specter, one of the most guarded species around. What happens when Kun finds that Specters aren't nearly as cruel as they're made out to be?
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun
Kudos: 33
Collections: Challenge #4 — Awaken The World





	To Fall For a Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> hi, hello! this is my first time publishing an NCT/WayV fic AND my first time participating in a fic fest, so i hope you enjoy it! shoutout to a little wonder fest for giving me a reason to write again :)

Kun sat at the metal table, elbows propped on its surface and leg bouncing nervously in anticipation. The hub was full of people milling about, some waiting like he was and others rushing to make their flight. Kun would have preferred to meet his friend outside of the hub - which Johnny had insisted he was okay with - but Chenle would have nothing of the sort, claiming that they would be bad friends if they didn’t see him the moment he made it onto Xaelara. Unfortunately, Hendery had agreed, and that’s how Kun found himself sitting in one of the places on the planet he hated most.

“When is his ship supposed to get here?” Kun sighed, looking across the table at Chenle.

The younger smiled at him and his brown eyes twinkled, the corners of his lips twitching as he held back a laugh. Amusement practically rolled off of the younger boy in waves, the emotion wrapping itself gently around Kun like a teasing lover trailing fingers lightly across his skin. “In twenty minutes,” Chenle responded, ripping a piece off of his pretzel and popping it into his mouth. “You act like we’ve been here forever.” 

Kun scowled as he handed his friend a napkin. “Don’t you know better than to talk with your mouth open?”

Hendery snickered as Chenle offered a half-genuine apology, letting the other boy rip off a piece of his pretzel without complaint. “You should lighten up, Kun,” Hendery said cheerfully before popping the piece of pretzel into his mouth. Unlike Chenle, he waited until he swallowed the piece to speak again. “I don’t understand what you hate about this place anyway. It’s great for people-watching, which you love!”

Hendery wasn’t wrong. The hub was the largest spaceport on the planet and the best place to lazily watch people from all planets roam about. It was great if you were someone like Hendery, bright-eyed, curious, and oddly out-of-touch with his emotions for a Novian. But for Kun? Not so much. For Kun, the hub felt a bit too wild - like all of the colors of the rainbow mixed with indistinguishable noise, all of it too much of an assault on the senses. 

“If I want to people watch I can just go to Excalibur,” Kun muttered. 

“How anyone would prefer the grimiest club over the hub is beyond me.” 

Kun chuckled, lips curving up into a small smile, and shook his head lightly. “Excalibur is the best club here and you know it. It’s not grimy it’s just busy. Also, it’s fun there! Excalibur is filled with people high on laughter and intoxication.”

“Among other things,” Hendery grumbled.

Kun rolled his eyes and kept talking as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “The hub is uncontrolled madness and angry people. Why be around frustrated travelers?”

“Only you seem to run into the frustrated ones,” Hendery countered with a laugh, running a hand through his black hair. “I think they can sense your bad energy.” He waggled his fingers as he said this, leaning away from Kun as if trying to get out of his bubble.

“This whole place is full of bad energy, that’s the problem,” Kun insisted, shaking his head at Hendery’s suggestion. “You’re really telling me you don’t notice it at all?” Irritation hung thick in the air like a mist that Kun had to choke down.

“Sure, but it’s not that bad! You’re telling me you don’t notice the happiness?” Hendery raised an eyebrow in question, cocking his head in the direction of a little girl laughing as she was picked up by a family member who had just gotten off their ship. 

Of course Kun could feel the happiness present in the hub - each bubbly laugh and excited scream broke through the mist like sunlight on a cloudy day, a bright flash of yellow among the grey - but it didn’t overpower the suffocating feelings of irritation and anger that came with being there.

“Novians,” Chenle scoffed, wiping his hands off on the napkin as he shook his head. “You’re all so emotional.”

“Hendery isn’t,” Kun countered, looking over at his friend with a slight frown. If it wasn’t for the ring of silver around his irises Kun would have trouble believing that Hendery was a Novian at all. Chenle’s irises were surrounded by green, one of the many reminders that he was not from this planet.

“He is, too,” Chenle argued, much to Hendery’s surprise. He looked over at Chenle with wide-eyes, his mouth dropping open into a small o, but Chenle paid him no mind. “Hendery is all happiness - it’s almost too much sometimes. You have more range,” he said to Kun, “but you spend too much time focusing on bad emotions.”

“There’s no such thing as bad emotions,” Kun protested weakly, but Chenle wasn’t listening - he was already back to bickering with Hendery over the last piece of pretzel. Kun knew that Chenle was right, and looking over at Hendery he couldn’t help but chuckle softly. The boy was the embodiment of happiness, the emotion rippling over him in shades of yellow, orange, and pink. If Kun was being honest, Hendery probably helped balance him out. 

“Stop arguing over the pretzel,” he told the two with a sigh, rolling his eyes as he pressed his palms into the surface of the table and stood. “I’ll get you guys another one...on Chenle’s dime,” he added with a grin.

Chenle looked like he might protest but then decided against it, handing his credit card over to Kun with a sigh. “Make sure you get cheese dip this time, okay?”

Kun hummed his agreement and nodded before slipping away into the crowd and trying to find his way to the pretzel stand. Despite how much he hated spending time in the hub he found that walking around at least helped distract him from all of the emotions he picked up from the people around him, his focus on finding a soft pretzel distracting him from the car crash of feelings that almost threatened to overwhelm him.

His eyes scanned the signs of the various booths he passed, his lips curving down into a frown as he tried - and failed - to find the same pretzel stand that the three had passed on their way in. With his focus on searching for the right sign he didn’t pay nearly as much attention to the people around him as he should have, and he was startled as he felt a shoulder collide with his own. 

Kun whipped around to face the person he had bumped into, readying an apology, but it died on his lips as his silver-ringed eyes met the red-ringed eyes of the boy he had bumped into. The boy was shorter than him, his jet black hair a contrast to the blonde hair Kun was sporting, and his downturned eyes regarded Kun curiously. The boy cocked his head to the side, the corners of his lips pulling up into the whisper of a smile at Kun’s stunned expression. 

“You’re…”

“A Specter,” the boy supplied, “yes. Though I prefer to go by Ten.” Kun could feel amusement and curiosity ebbing off the boy, blue tendrils that weaved their way between his legs much like a cat would. “What’s the matter?” he asked, eyebrows raising slightly. “Cat got your tongue?”

Kun stood straighter at this, his own lips turning down into a slight frown. “No,” he said slowly, though he didn’t quite believe it himself. Judging by the amusement radiating off the boy in front of him, neither did he. “I thought specters didn’t leave Terra Mortuis.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Ten purred in reply, leaning in closer to Kun. “We get such a warm welcome everywhere we go.” His words had a dangerous edge to them now, blue tendrils with an icy edge that squeezed Kun a little too tightly for comfort but quickly released their hold.

Kun raised an eyebrow and leaned back, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as the edge in Ten’s voice subsided. “Maybe it’s because you verge on hostile.”

Ten’s eyes widened for a moment and then he pulled back, throwing his head back and laughing as he did so. “You have not met very many Specters, have you?” he asked Kun with a grin, placing his fingers lightly on Kun’s wrist and guiding him towards the windows and out of the middle of the hub. 

Kun allowed himself to be led elsewhere - soft pretzel forgotten - having realized that they were holding up the ebb and flow of the people around them. “I haven’t met any Specters,” he admitted.

“That is unsurprising,” Ten noted, moving his hand from Kun’s wrist and leaning against the windows. “We do not typically verge on hostile.” His lips were curved up in a full smile now and amusement again curled its way around Kun’s body, blue tendrils teasing him as they wound themselves around him. “Specters may not be able to sense emotions like a Novian can, but we are far better at controlling them.” In an instant the tendrils were gone and where amusement once lingered like a playful cat there was emptiness. Kun’s brown eyes widened and Ten’s grew smaller as his smile widened. 

“There’s nothing,” Kun said softly, looking at Ten in awe. “Absolutely nothing.” He could sense the normal clash of emotions around him, almost a symphony in their own right, but from the boy before him he could sense nothing. It was as if he wasn’t even there.

“That is what it means to be a Specter.” Ten looked rather pleased with himself, brown eyes glinting with triumph, but Kun couldn’t focus on anything other than the dark red ring around his irises. 

“A true ghost,” Kun murmured.

“From the land of death,” Ten affirmed with a roll of his eyes. At once the amusement was back, curling around Kun with such affection he almost thought it missed him as much as he missed it. Ten leaned closer to Kun, catching his chin between his fingers and gently pulling down. “The silver in your eyes is glowing. Why?”

Kun took a step back, blood rushing to his cheeks, and abruptly looked away from Ten, choosing to look out of the window instead. “For the same reason the red in yours glowed when you made yourself go dark.”

Ten pursed his lips and cocked his head to the side, folding his arms across his chest. “No, there’s more to it,” he said with a scowl. Kun could feel that he was sure of it, a frustrating fact in its own right given that the boy was correct. “You Novians are always on - it’s practically impossible for you not to be all feely. Why the sudden glow?”

Kun looked out the window for a moment longer before glancing sideways at Ten and offering the boy a crooked smile. “It’s a secret,” he said with a wink. He was not about to tell the stranger that there was something about his energy that was so alluring, so palpable that Kun felt he could lean into its touch. He briefly wondered if all Spectres emotions were so practically tangible, but something inside told him that that wasn’t the case. Something about Ten was special. “What brings you to Xaelara anyway? You like to solo travel?”

Ten stared at him for a moment longer than necessary and Kun could feel the curiosity rippling off of him, feel the burning desire for an answer to his question, but as quickly as it was there it was gone and Ten was shaking his head, a smile back on his face. “I’m not alone,” he said with a grin. “My friends simply disappeared when we bumped into each other.”

“Seems strange,” Kun noted, eyebrows pulling together. He was certain that if Chenle and Hendery had been with him they wouldn’t have left. In fact, things probably would have been a disaster - once they noticed the boy’s eyes his friends would have been on him like white on rice trying to learn more about him.

“Not really, given the circumstances,” Ten purred, leaning closer to Kun once more.

This time Kun didn’t move back, and he raised an eyebrow at the sly smile playing on the boy’s lips. His smile was matched by his aura, blue tendrils lazily coiling themselves around Kun’s body, trailing and lingering wherever bare skin was exposed. He opened his mouth to ask what Ten meant but was cut off by the boy as he raised a finger to his own lips. 

Ten cocked his head to the side, listening, and his gaze flitted to the crowd of people beside them - the crowd that Kun had managed to forget existed. “Your friends are looking for you,” he told Kun, brown eyes coming back to meet his own, “and my own are no doubt growing impatient. I should probably get going.” He smiled at Kun again and this time pointed out into the crowd. 

Kun reluctantly took his eyes off Ten and scanned the crowd, easily spotting Chenle’s mint green hair among the masses. Next to his friend was a tall, lanky figure with brown hair and a smile that could light up a room - after all the fighting with Chenle he had missed Johnny step off of his ship anyway. Johnny noticed him first, brown eyes widening in recognition and excitement. The boy’s gaze traveled to Ten right beside him and his expression changed as he caught sight of Ten’s eyes, morphing into surprise and something akin to curiosity. 

“Silvans,” Ten mumbled with a roll of his eyes, noting the green-ring around Johnny’s irises just as he had noticed the red around Ten’s. 

“Who’s being judgey now?” Kun asked with a smile. 

Ten merely waved him off, but a smile still played on his lips. “It was nice to met you…”

“Kun.”

“Kun. Say hello to your friends for me.”

With that Ten turned to leave, but Kun caught his wrist before he could go. Something about this wasn’t adding up. Specter’s were so unheard of partially because they were thought to never leave their planet in the first place, but also because when they did you couldn’t find them anyway. They were so accurately named ghosts because they behaved as one - quietly moving in a way that was unheard of among any other species. 

“You bumped into me,” Kun told him, his voice now accusing. A Specter didn’t even have to try to move through the world unnoticed, it happened naturally.

Ten’s eyes widened slightly and then he grinned, brown eyes glinting mischievously. “I did.”

“That was on purpose.”

“It was.”

“Why?”

Ten slipped closer to Kun, lips grazing Kun’s ear as he said, “Because I wanted an excuse to talk to the cute boy I spotted across the way.” His aura was back in full force, tendrils of amusement with an edge of something else - desire? - enveloping Kun so softly he was almost okay with letting it happen. Ten let his lips brush Kun’s cheek as he slowly pulled back and Kun stumbled backwards, heat creeping up the back of his neck and a blush spreading across his cheeks. Ten let out a laugh and turned away again. “Call me,” he said over his shoulder, and with that he disappeared into the crowd, too fast for Kun to try and stop him. 

“How?” Kun mumbled to himself, turning to face his friends who had just broken through the crowd. 

“Who the hell was that?” Chenle demanded, eyes wide. “And where the hell is my pretzel?”

“Sorry about your pretzel. I couldn’t find the stand,” Kun answered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and handing Chenle back his credit card with the other.

“It didn’t seem like you were looking for it,” Chenle accused, but he smiled begrudingly at Kun, letting him know that all was well. 

“Since when do you know a Specter?” Johnny asked curiously, smiling down at his friend. “And why didn’t you tell me?”

Chenle and Hendery’s eyes widened at the mention of a Specter and Kun hurried to explain before he could get told off by his friends. “I don’t,” he said quickly. “I just met him. He...I bumped into him.”

Johnny’s eyes narrowed, his brain clearly working faster than Kun’s was able to. “Since when do Specters bump into anyone?”

Kun shrugged, not wanting to explain what Ten had admitted. “Don’t know, but it’s not important. You’re here and we have things to do!”

Johnny narrowed his eyes for a moment but then shrugged, turning and making his way into the crowd. Him and Chenle chatted as they all made their way out of the hub and Hendery came up beside him, throwing an arm over Kun’s shoulder. 

“You know he won’t let it go, right?” Hendery said cheerfully. “Eventually you’re going to have to tell us all what happened.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Kun grumbled, but a smile was already playing on his lips. He leaned into Hendery, letting the happiness emanating off of the boy wrap around him. 

“I won’t either. I could feel you, you know,” Hendery said, lowering his voice so that no one else would. “He did something to you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kun lied. He knew that he would have to explain everything later but he wasn’t going to worry about that for now. He slipped his hands into his pants pockets and his hand brushed against a slip of paper that hadn’t been there before. He pulled it out of his pocket, confused, and smiled when he saw unfamiliar, delicate handwriting decorating the page. On it was a string of numbers and two words: 

_Call me._

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this! feel free to follow me over on twitter if you want to scream about fanfics, nct, or ateez. i mostly write ateez content but am working on getting some more nct stuff out :) you can find me @ME0RIAPEUDA


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